This application claims the priority of German Patent Document 100 57 019.4, filed Nov. 17, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a door grip arrangement for the door of a power vehicle, particularly a passenger vehicle.
This kind of door grip arrangement is known from, e.g., German publication DE 36 28 376 C2, and exhibits a door grip positioned on the outside of the vehicle door, as well as a support element positioned on the inside of the door. The door grip is mounted on this support element in swivel fashion through the door""s outer shell. The door grip has a catch, whichxe2x80x94upon the opening movement of the door grip, specifically upon manual actuation of the gripxe2x80x94actuates a release lever belonging to a door lock positioned in the door, in order to open the lock. Inside of the door, furthermore, a return lever is swivel-mounted on the support element; the return lever is preloaded with spring means acting in the return direction and forces the door grip to execute a return movement in a direction opposite that of the opening movement. In the process, the return lever driving the door grip engages with the catch; here the return lever overlaps with the catch in form-fitting fashion, both on a side facing the door grip and on a side facing away from the door grip. Thus, in the opening movement of the door grip, this compulsory coupling results in the return lever swiveling against its return direction.
However, if an outwardly directed force is exerted on the door grip in an undesired fashion, for example, in the case of a crash, the result could be that the door grip executes the opening movement and opens the door lock at a critical moment. Precisely in the case of crash, however, it is decisively important that the doors of the vehicle remained closed. To guarantee this, return levers in current door grip arrangements are equipped with balance weights which, relative to the swivel axes of the return levers, are positioned opposite couplings with the catches. As a result, outwardly directed accelerating forces, such as those arising during a crash, will be exerted both on the door grip in the opening direction, as well as on the return lever in the return direction, thereby preventing an undesired opening of the door grip, and thus of the door lock, due to the compulsory coupling of the return lever and the catch.
However, in certain crash situations, accelerations are exerted on the return lever, or on its balance weight, thereby driving the return lever against its return direction, that is, in the opening direction. A swivel movement of the return lever is usually prevented, however, by the compulsory coupling with the door grip when corresponding forces are also exerted on the door grip in the closing direction of the door grip. In certain situations, however, the opening forces on the return lever can be greater than the closing forces on the door grip, with the result that, due to the compulsory coupling between the return lever and the catch, the door grip is made to swivel and open the door lock. Situations of this kind may arise in the case of crashes, e.g., when severe accelerations spread in wave-like fashion inside the vehicle and are thus exerted at different moments on the door grip and on the balance weight for the return lever. However, for these situations, there is also a need to avoid the undesired opening of the door lock and the danger of the vehicle door opening during a crash with measures that would increase the safety of the vehicle.
For a door grip arrangement of the initially described type the present invention is concerned with the problem of providing an embodiment that increases the vehicle safety.
This problem is solved by the invention with a particular door grip arrangement for a door of a power vehicle including a door grip positioned on an outside of the door and a support element positioned on an inside of the door. The door grip is swivel-mounted on the support element through the outer shell of the door, and a catch is exhibited by the door grip. Upon opening movement of the door grip, the catch actuates a release lever inside the door in order to open a door lock. The release lever is a part of the door lock positioned within the door, and a return lever is swivel-mounted on the support element. The return lever is loaded by a spring device working in a return direction and impelling the door grip to perform return movement in a direction opposite that of the opening movement.
The present invention is based on the general concept of directly or indirectly coupling the return lever with the door grip in such a way that the return lever can swivel against its return direction independent of a movement of the door grip. This measure assures that the compulsory coupling of the door grip and the return lever only applies when the opening forces operate on the door grip. In this case, due to the compulsory coupling, the opening movement of the door grip brings about a swivel movement of the return lever counter to its return direction. In a different casexe2x80x94that is, when the opening forces operate on the return leverxe2x80x94the latter may swivel against its return direction without moving the door grip in the opening direction. Thus, an undesired opening of the door, particularly in the case of a crash, can also be avoided in cases where the opening forces on the return lever are larger than the closing forces on the door grip. The inventive measure thus allows the vehicle safety to be increased.
According to one advantageous embodiment, the return lever for moving the door grip can engage with the catch, in the process of which the return lever overlaps with the catch, or with a component part of the catch, only on a side facing the door grip. Consequently, at the end of the return lever that is coupled with the catch, the side facing away from the door grip is free or open for the catch or a corresponding coupling element belonging to the catch, with the result that the return lever can move away from the catch without interacting with the catch when the return lever swivels against its return direction. An embodiment of this kind can be realized very simply and therefore inexpensively.
Other important features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from dependent claims, the drawings, and the corresponding description of the figures, as based on the drawings.
The features referred to above and explained below can be applied not only in the specified combinations, but in other combinations and alone, without departing from the overall framework of the invention.